Thursday, 10a-12p, 1wk | 10/19

Format: Presentation
Instructor: Denise Neil, Historian and Museum Director, 45th Infantry Museum

Location: Online
Important Info: A La Carte Price: $10

 

We often think of war photography as depictions of battlefields and destruction made famous by the Army Signal Corps photographers. But, what about down time? The daily life of soldiers was captured in snapshots by individuals as well as photographers for the 45th Division News. Focusing on pictures from World War II and Korea, we’ll see what these images tell us about how soldiers passed time, documented friendships, and brought comfort to their day-to-day existence while serving overseas.

Friday, 10a-12p, 1wk | 9/22

Format: Presentation
Instructor: Paige Scheuerman, Outreach Coordinator, Medicare Assistance Program, Oklahoma Insurance Department

Location: Online
Important Info: A La Carte Price: Free, registration required

 

In this comprehensive review, you’ll find everything you need to know about the Medicare Program, including information on Parts A-D, Medigap policies and when to buy one, eligibility and enrollment, options for those with disabilities and/or limited income and resources, prescription drug coverage and Advantage Plans, benefits and costs, comparing and choosing plans, Medicare and Medicaid fraud, waste and abuse prevention, detection, reporting and recovery.

Friday, 10a-12p, 1wk | 10/20

Format: Presentation
Instructor: Doug Stowell, Polling and Consumer Researcher

Location: Online
Important Info: A La Carte Price: $10

 

In this one-time session, we’ll see how the U.S. is performing in meeting the challenges of 2023 by comparing the U.S. rankings in more than 25 key global categories including the economy, environment, education, healthcare, climate change, immigration, military preparedness, safety, prosperity, personal happiness and much more. The Top 10 format provides a quick snapshot of how well the U.S. compares to other nations. 

Friday, 10a-12p, 1wk | 11/3

Format: Presentation
Instructor: Doug Stowell, Polling and Consumer Researcher

Location: Online
Important Info: A La Carte Price: $10

Remember reading George Orwell’s 1984 and thinking that was the future? Or, when the year 2000 was the future? Both are now the past, and we lived through them! So, what’s next? We know the pace of technological change has accelerated—remember life before smart phones? Let’s see what may happen by the year 2030. We’ll look ahead at transportation, healthcare, education, climate and environment, energy generation and more.

Mondays, 10a-12p, 4wks | 9/18-10/9

Format: Discussion
Instructor: Britton Gildersleeve/Wennette Pegues, Retired Educators and Widows

Location: Online
Important Info: A La Carte Price: $25. Max 12 students.

Recommended Text: The Grieving Brain by Mary-Frances O'Connor; Healing Your Grieving Heart by Alan Wolfert

 

At a certain point in life, we begin to lose our loved ones. This class explores the ways in which we grieve for those who have moved beyond us, leaving us behind. We will examine the science of grief, how the brain processes the loss, as well as resources for aging solo. All who have experienced grief are welcome as we endeavor to find productive ways to both honor our grief and move forward.

 

This class will not be recorded. 

Mondays & Wednesdays, 10-10:50a, 8wks | 9/18-11/8

Format: Participation
Instructor: Sherri Norton, M.S., CCC-SLP, Clinical Assistant Professor, OSU Communication Sciences and Disorders

Location: Online
Important Info: $75 (both levels), $100 nonmembers. No-shows will be charged.

 

These courses are the creation of Dr. Sabiha Parveen and her team in OSU’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. This eight-week program will help seniors in and around Stillwater find resources and engage in cognitive and language activities to keep their brains sharp. Group-based activities will aim to improve and maintain some of the critical cognitive skills (including attention, memory and social communication) for increased safety, independence and engagement in daily activities. These groups are available for anyone who is interested in learning ways to keep their brain engaged and active.

Three options are available:

• Online group for those beginning to notice some changes in attention and memory but not seeing an impact in daily interactions and performances.

• Online group for those who have been seeing considerable changes in attention and memory and also seeing impact in ability to do things they enjoy.

• In-person group that will target skills such as attention, memory, naming and problem-solving.

The course fee helps off-set the cost of materials provided to each participant. Income-based financial assistance is available for those who qualify. Contact the OLLI office for more information prior to enrolling. Active OLLI membership levels pay the same fee.

Mondays, 1:30-3:30p, 8 wks | 9/18-11/6

Format: Discussion
Instructor: Shanley Wells Rau

Location: Online
Important Info: A La Carte Price: $25

Required Text: The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1940)

 

Together we’ll read Laura Ingalls Wilder’s The Long Winter, which is set in Dakota Territory during the severe winter of 1880-1, when Laura turned 14 years old. By exploring history, we will contextualize the family’s experiences. We’ll discuss our own personal connections to the book, as well as the differences between fact and fiction in the author’s work, and we’ll discover what the Laura scholars have to say.

This class will not be recorded. 

Mondays, 10a-12p,  3wks | 10/2-10/16

Format: Discussion
Instructor: James Showalter, Professor Emeritus, Langston University

Location: Online
Important Info: A La Carte Price: $25

 

Stretching from New Mexico into Canada, the Rockies are a massive uplift, a divider of waters, full of multiple ecosystems, a haven and home for Paleo-Indians, a barrier to Anglo migration, a vacation land, aesthetic delight, land of dreams and today a place with both problems and promises. Learn more about this expansive region, its origins, human habitation, its present and future. If you haven’t spent time in the Rockies, it will be a taste. For those who love them, add depth to your knowledge and appreciation.

Mondays, 10a-12p, 4wks | 10/16-11/6

Format | Presentation
Instructor: PJ Richards, Caregiver

Location: Online
Important Info: A La Carte Price: $25

 

Many spouses and family members are being put in the position of caregiver. They take on this job without any training specific to what is involved in the day-to-day care of their loved one. This class provides essential information in the areas of physical and medical needs, medications, safety, legal issues, mental health, community resources and more. You’ll hear from a team of experts, facilitated by a caregiver who, like many, found herself navigating a new normal after her husband’s health crisis.

Tuesdays, 1:30-3:30p | 7wks | 9/19-10/31

Format: Lecture
Instructor: Jeffrey Walker, Writer & Director

Location: Online
Important Info: A La Carte Price: $25. Max 12.

Recommended Text: Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens (Penguin Classics, 1999-ISBN 978-0140435122)

 

Charles Dickens pioneered the method of publishing novels in serial. By writing and publishing a novel in weekly installments, he could change his story at any time, depending on what his readers liked or disliked. Together we’ll read Nicholas Nickleby (1838), called the funniest novel in the English language, part-by-part, to see story and characters develop and change over the weeks, as do the reader’s own life. Readers see the changes in their lives through the lens of fictional characters.

 

This course will not be recorded. 

Tuesdays, 1:15-3:15p, 3wks | 9/19-10/3

Format: Lecture
Instructor: Howard Tolley, Political Science Professor Emeritus, University of Cincinnati

Location: Online
Important Info: A La Carte Price: $25

 

How has the U.S. Supreme Court's view on slavery and civil rights evolved? This course will cover the Constitution and federal laws addressing slavery, equal protection and race discrimination applied by the Justices in deciding disputes impacting African Americans. Learn about the court’s rulings on disparate criminal penalties, slave owners’ property rights, voter suppression, gerrymandered election districts, Jim Crow, states’ rights, school segregation, the death penalty, affirmative action, lethal use of force by police and prosecutorial immunity.

 

This course will not be recorded.

Tuesdays, 10a-12p, 6wks | 10/3-11/7

Format: Lecture
Instructor: John Powers, English Professor Emeritus, Oklahoma State University

Location: Online
Important Info: A La Carte Price: $25

 

On the 60th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, more than half of Americans think other people were involved with his murder and the cover-up of the crime. Following the recent scholarship of Phillip F. Nelson and others, learn what happened on that fateful day in Texas, as well as the preceding and succeeding days when the crime was prepared, the cover-up executed and the nation betrayed.

Wednesdays, 10a-12p, 8wks | 9/20-11/8

Format: Lecture
Instructor: Michael Patterson, Creative Aging Specialist

Location: Online
Important Info: A La Carte Price: $25

 

This course will review the risk and protective factors associated with the Behavioral Roots of Brain Health. Learn a framework for overcoming mental confusion and conflict by cultivating healthy and positive mindsets and mental dispositions. Topics covered include using your mind to manage autonomic nervous system, mental exercise and stimulation, mind balancing, managing mindsets and mental dispositions, habits, routines, creativity and more.

Wednesdays, 1:30-3:30p, 4wks | 9/20-10/11

Format: Lecture
Instructor: Sharon Schlicher, Educator

Location: Online
Important Info: A La Carte Price: $25

 

Throughout history, grandparents have been essential to not only family survival but sharing vital information for future generations. Our grandparents taught food preservation, immigration routes, herbal medicine and child rearing; and future generations benefited. In this class, we will discuss issues of modern-day grandparent: resources available for those raising grandkids, rights as grandparents in Oklahoma, how to handle denial of access, how technology can help us stay in contact, and more. We'll share stories, and the joys and heartbreaks of dealing with our kids and grandkids. 

 

This course will not be recorded. 

Wednesdays, 1:30-3:30p, 4wks | 10/18-11/8

Format: Lecture
Instructor: Luann Sewell Waters

Location: Online
Important Info: A La Carte Price: $25

 

When you visit a cemetery, you enter a world where a secret language tells the story of the dead ... and the living. Gravestones are rich in a language of symbol that changes over time, which can make it difficult to interpret original meanings. By studying the symbols and customs, especially those in Oklahoma, you’ll learn more than names and dates. You’ll glean histories, genealogy, social membership and occupations. You’ll also learn about science, art and historic architecture. You might even glimpse some residents’ thoughts on an afterlife.